Chapter 14 #2
Lawson waits at the bottom for me, a white bag in one hand and a cup of something in the other. I don’t care what it is but I see piles of whipped cream and my mouth is already salivating.
“Gah! I love you,” I say, snagging the cup and taking a big gulp.
He chuckles quietly and shakes his head. “Careful, sunshine. Some might think that declaration is for me and not that sugar concoction.”
I choke on my next sip and wipe the corner of my mouth as my cheeks heat. Laughing awkwardly, I nibble on the straw. “This is really good, where did you get it if you were already heading over here this morning?”
“I made it.”
My eyes pop up to him only he’s looking anywhere but at me. “What?”
Slowly his dark gaze slides my way. “I, uh, made it.”
“Oh.”
“It’s no big deal. I have that fancy arse coffee machine and you left all these syrups over there.” He shrugs. “I just threw something together that I knew would rot a normal human’s teeth out, but would be perfectly acceptable to you.”
I bite my lip to tamp down my smile. “Well thank you. It’s really good.”
He nods. “Ready for your surprise?”
I hop on my feet. “Absolutely. Did I dress okay?”
His eyes trail over my body and I fight to stay still at the heated look that flares when he pauses on the oversized hoodie. His jaw ticks. “Yeah. You’re perfect—I mean it’s perfect.” He clears his throat and moves towards the front door. “Shall we go?”
I follow behind him, giggling softly.
“Kinsley sent the lads over with some treats this morning, so I brought you one of those as well.” He hands me the small white bag once we are settled into his car.
I open it and inhale deep, groaning. “She knows the way to my heart.”
“Through a heaping of sugar.”
“Exactly.” I take a massive bite of the double chocolate muffin and moan.
Lawson shifts in his seat, his hand flexing on the steering wheel. I hum to myself as I finish off the muffin and settle back in my seat, sipping on the rest of my drink.
“How is the homework coming along?”
The straw pops out from between my lips. “Homework?”
He glances over at me. “Your list.”
“Oh! Oh. I, uh, finished it?”
His lips twitch. “Are you sure about that?”
I huff and fidget with the edge of my cup. “Maybe? I don’t know. I think I am but I also wanted to see what you had on your list before I settled on all mine.”
“The point is that we both come into this with a list of rules that we are comfortable with, not what we think the other is going to want.”
“I know. I know.”
“So what are your rules then?”
I slip my phone from the pocket of my hoodie and open the notes app. “Number one. No secrets. We both have to be completely honest through this.”
He nods. “That’s good. Open communication is important. We can discuss things before they happen to make sure we both are okay with it.”
“And if anything does come up that might affect this, we don’t hold back from telling the other. We are in this together.”
He huffs a laugh. “Now you’re sounding like Ryder and Blake.”
I shrug. “It’s a good commitment. We really are in this together. You saved me, now let me return the favor.”
He swallows, his hand flexing on the wheel. “Okay, so rule number one is completely open communication. What next?”
“This needs an end date. We already talked about this one but I just wanted to make sure we are in full agreement.”
“When I get my contract.”
I nod. “Yep. Is that okay with you?”
He hesitates and I shift in my seat. “Yeah. If it’s fine with you then it is with me.”
Well, I’d rather it never end but it is what it is.
“Okay,” I whisper. “Number three. Physical stuff—” He coughs and my eyes whip up to him. “You okay?”
He clears his throat and bobs his head. “Yep,” he croaks. “Go on.”
“I want to keep it to when it’s only necessary. Like if we are out in public or in a position where someone might see.”
“And it doesn’t go too far.”
“Yes. Getting too physical can complicate things and I don’t think either of us want that.”
“Agreed.”
“Okay. Number four.” I pause, rolling my lips. “There can’t be anyone else, at least not without being careful. If you really need to scratch that itch, I just ask that you do it discreetly because—”
I squeak when he slams on the breaks and pulls off to the side of the road. He sets the car in park and turns in his seat so that he’s facing me. “I would never do that to you.”
“It’s okay. I understand you have a life outside of all this and I don’t want to interrupt anything—”
“Listen to me carefully, sunshine. There is no one else. There wasn’t before and there isn’t now.”
My lips part and my eyes dance between his dark ones. The slight nerves I had over talking about his possible other relationships eases at the sincerity in his gaze and words.
“Okay.”
He doesn’t look away from me as he nods. “Is there anything else?”
I shake my head. “I don’t think so. I don’t want to put too many limitations on things because I also want this to be as natural as possible. Otherwise I think the whole thing will crumble.”
“Then that’s number five. We take this one day at a time and try to stay true to ourselves along the way.”
“I like that.” He matches my smile, making mine grow even bigger. I love it when he looks at me like this.
“Ready for your surprise?”
“You didn’t have to do anything.”
“I know, but I wanted to. You’re doing so much for me through all of this. I wanted to take a moment and do something just for you.”
My heart skips a beat. “Okay,” I whisper. “Do I get a hint?”
“Let’s just say, any smart man will fear you afterwards.”
A laugh bursts out of me. “What kind of hint is that?”
He shrugs, smirking. “Trust me, sunshine?”
With everything that I am.